The present invention relates to a drain assembly and an odor trap for such a drain assembly, in particular for use in a walk-in shower.
For aesthetic reasons and to maximize the usable surface of the bottom of walk-in shower, the visible components of drain assemblies for walk-in showers after being built-in are preferably elongated and as narrow as possible. Such an elongated drain assembly is known from BE 1018522 A5 in the name of N.V. Steylaerts and is commercialized under the tradename “Carrodrain”. After building-in of the “Carrodrain” in the floor only an elongated grating with a width of ca. 56 mm is visible.
There is a need for drain assemblies with still narrower gratings.
The principle of an odor trap (also known as water trap or stench trap) is that a part of the channel through which the water runs away, is shaped in such a way that an obstacle in the channel together with the water present prevents bad smelling air from the drain side reaching the use side. According to the insight of the inventors the classical “swan neck” is not practicable for drains for walk-in showers, because as a result of its shape it is naturally no longer accessible after being built-in without breaking up the floor.
For these reasons walk-in showers make use of an odor trap comprising, viewed in the flow direction, a first closing wall for the closing off of the uppermost part of the drainage channel and placed at a distance from the first closing wall a second closing wall, wherein the first and second closing walls, viewed in a horizontal direction, overlap. Several ways of realizing such an odor trap in a horizontal tube component are described in Dutch patent NL 1027800 C2.
In the “Carrodrain” drain use is made of a removable odor trap with such a low height that it can be placed in a recess (collection zone) of the drain. The water to be drained off runs along the whole circumference of the odor trap to the inside. It is a disadvantage of this type of odor trap that it cannot be made narrower without a significant reduction in the drainage rate (in the case of pure scaling) or becoming mechanically less strong (in the case of making the walls thinner). Since this odor trap cannot be further miniaturized, it is also not possible to design a narrower drain assembly in which the odor trap can still be easily removed for cleaning or maintenance.
French patent application no. FR 2 942 820 A1, in the name of Wirquin Plastiques SA, discloses a shower drain having a main body with internal walls defining a gutter to receive water to be evacuated. The body has a longitudinal opening that ensures flow of water in the gutter. Passage forming units form a passage for evacuating the water from the gutter. A longitudinal wall canalizes the water towards a side of the gutter. Another longitudinal wall forms a water overflowing wall, and is intercalated between the former longitudinal wall and the passage forming units. The application further discloses an odor trap consisting of a first longitudinal wall that allows passage of water under its lower edge and a second longitudinal wall that allows passage of water over its upper edge. The second longitudinal wall is either part of the drain body, or of a separate gutter that must be installed prior to installing the part serving as the first longitudinal wall. Hence, FR 2 942 820 A1 does not disclose a self-contained, easily removable odor trap.
Dutch patent no. NL 1 025 765 C, in the name of Jered Nijhof, discloses a drain in a bathroom or shower cabin having an odor trap, a channel part, a base wall and upstanding long side walls. The odor excluder connects to the outlet aperture. The outlet aperture is located preferably in one of the long side walls. The outlet aperture is provided with a connecting muff for connection of the drain to the outlet connection. One of the long side walls is provided with a displaced, extending right-angled outer wall, which projects above the opening of the drain. The other long side wall is provided with a turned outstanding edge for connection of the drain to the floor surface. The channel part of the drain contains the odor trap, within which the outlet aperture of the drain is positioned. The odor trap consists of two upright transversal walls that extend over the width of the drain body and a corresponding lid that has downward edges that partially overhang the upright walls. Given the transversal orientation of the odor trap, the design of NL 1 025 765 A1 is adverse to a further reduction of the width of the drain, as this would proportionally reduce the flow capacity of the odor trap.
There is therefore a need for a compacter, particularly narrower, odor trap, that enables a high drainage rate to be realized and that after building-in of the drain body is still completely accessible and removable, such that it can be efficaciously cleaned and maintained.